I took my 2008 Cooper (non S, 49000 miles) in for routine service (oil change etc) and they told the radiator was BONE DRY but they couldn't find a coolant leak.
They asked if I had seen coolant on the ground but I hadn't.

I had never seen a coolant temp/overheating warning or indication from the car that there was a problem.

My concern is has the damage been done?
I am now seriously worried and considering a trade in.

To complicate my decision I was already considering a trade in to upgrade to an S.

What should I do?

 

Is he talking about the radiator or coolant reservoir bottle? The reservoir could be low and your car could keep running. Your coolant level can drop over time from evaporation. If you had a bone dry cooling system on your daily driver you'd see alarms on the dash for coolant temp and if ignored you will permanently damage your engine.

 

According to the tech the raditor was dry. He didnt mention the reservoir.
There were no alarms or warnings.
The techs were scratching their heads and they made a joke about what awesome engines these are.
I was a diesel mechanic for years and I have never seen such a thing myself.

This is my daily driver and I make long road trips and am now very worried about upcoming repairs especially now that I'm out of warranty.

 

I would very highly doubt the entire radiator was completely empty. Only reason I haven't said "100% impossible" is that I'm still new to the Mini world (searching for my car now) and am not completely familiar with the Prince engine. Unless you were driving it for 3 minutes at a time and letting it sit after, you'd have noticed a completely empty cooling system. Besides warnings/alarms in the car, the engine would have overheated real fast and you'd have probably destroyed the motor. The resevoir tank I can completely believe, but not the whole system.

By the way, as a related aside, always a good idea to check your oil and coolant level on a fairly frequent basis. Short of a catastrophic failure, this will help make sure you don't run low.

 

I understand and agree.
My uncertainty comes from the fact that I have never owned a "modern" car before and what I was told (I didn't verify for myself).

I guess I didnt check my fluid levels because I assumed the car would tell me.
If it can tell me my tire pressure is low for crying out loud why can't it tell me my fluid levels are low?!?!
My fault for assuming.

I am still considering a trade in to upgrade to an S, and if the trade sets my mind at ease so be it.

Thank you for your replies.